"I wonder."
"It wouldn't do. If you were a Radical like Jordan you could tell them you owned the whole constituency. In a Radical it would show good faith and a likeliness to look after local interests. But in a Tory it is bribery and coercion. Your leaflet would be published in the London Radical papers—Another Instance of Tory Intimidation."
"You see, Peter," said Marbury, "we shall have to be tactful."
"Why notice the speech at all?" asked Peter.
"Because we are electioneering," said Marbury. "We're not here for fun. My enemy has sent out a leaflet: 'Vote for Jordan, the farmer, and the farmer's friend'—the implication, of course, being that I am neither a farmer nor a farmer's friend. It's much more important in an agricultural constituency to destroy this delicate suggestion than to prove that there is an absolute need for a Navy Bill next session of over sixty millions."
"Yes," objected Peter, "but the whole thing is so ridiculous."
Haversham sighed: "That's what makes public life so hard. It is especially hard for our people. There's nothing we dread more than losing touch with our sense of humour. But these sacrifices are necessary. These sixty millions have to be raised, and only Antony will raise them."
"You see, Peter," Marbury interposed, "the sense of duty is not yet extinct. Please look less incredulous. Then we'll go and talk to the farmers."
"Why do you take me?" Peter grunted. "Why not take someone who really understands?"